Mathys Tel feeling more and more at home at Bayern Munich

Mathys Tel had every right to decide to leave Bayern Munich during the summer transfer window, even if it was just on loan, but he decided to stay and fight for his place in the team. For Bayern and Thomas Tuchel, that decision from the youngster has proven to be very worthwhile as he’s already tallied two goals and an assist from the first four Bundesliga matches of the season, all of which came from a substitute appearance.

Quite frankly, had it not been for Tel’s late winner at Borussia Monchengladbach or his late assist to Leon Goretzka in the recent 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern very well might be further adrift of the top spot in the Bundesliga table and could be a handful of positions lower than second. As it stands, only two points separate first through 7th in the table.

In a recent interview with French outlet L’Equipe, Tel spoke about how he know feels even more at home at Bayern in his second season with the club since joining from Stade Rennais F.C. in 2022. He knew he would likely be losing out on minutes with the arrival of Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur, but still chose to stay and fight for his place in Tuchel’s squad, largely because of his love for Bayern.

“I feel like all other players now. The way I’m perceived has changed. My teammates talk to me a lot and give me advice. We’ve developed a relationship where I feel a lot of trust,” Tel explained in the interview (via @iMiaSanMia).

There is a handful of leaders within Bayern’s ranks and even Kane has already been invited into the club’s ‘leadership council,’ but it was Joshua Kimmich that Tel singled out in the interview as far as identifying a player that truly pushes him to be better. “Joshua Kimmich, for example, is demanding of me. If I slightly misplace a pass in training, he would shout at me as if I did something crazy. And right after that he would come towards me and tell me: ‘You know very well I’m doing that for your good, I want you to become a top player’,” he said.

Photo by CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP via Getty Images